Source: PLA Daily

07-25-2007 18:28

Braving the heavy rain, a working group of the General Political Department of the PLA visited, over July 19-20, and extended regards to several troop units of the Jinan Military Area Command fighting flood and doing disaster relief in Xinyang and Zhumadian situated at the upper reaches of the Huaihe River. The deepest impression the group got is that the Chinese armed forces are making headway in their effort of pushing for standardization and professionalization for flood fighting and emergency rescue.

The relevant regulations have defined the authority of employing forces and dropped the past requirement of reporting to different levels for approval even for using only one single soldier. By the new regulations, troops have the right to make their own decisions and report to the superior while taking actions, which has gained excellent effect.

The engineer troops and pontoon-bridge troops that had received professional trainings in maritime lifesaving, dykes patrol and stopping up piping have, together with the emergency detachments of militia, become the shock forces in flood fighting and emergency rescue. Besides, equipment for flood fighting and emergency rescue has also become increasingly modernized. On the training ground of the engineer regiment of a group army, communication vehicles, command vehicles, engineering mechanical vehicles and transport vehicles were ready to go; and meanwhile assault boats, life jackets, lighting material, medical and first-aid equipment, and the command, communication and video transmission systems were all well-prepared.

A general who was commanding the flood fighting and emergency rescue said that flood fighting and emergency rescue is not alike helping the people in their work, nor was it a kind of ordinary manpower support, but involves the employment of modernized equipment in the military and the application of the comprehensive quality of all the officers and men. It is a kind of display of the combat effectiveness of the army. Therefore, the commanders should elaborately organize the troops to fight against flood as they do in battlefield.

 

Editor:Chen Ge